Our spring semester has begun!

¡Feliz año nuevo! We hope that your winter break brought you good rest, quality time with your loved ones, and a refreshing energy to continue working on your goals. Latinx Student Services is excited to begin the spring semester with you, make sure you are following our socials to stay up to date with upcoming community engagement opportunities!

Meet Luís Escobar

Luís Escobar is a first year college student at Augsburg University majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry and Psychology. He is a Mexican American, queer, trans, artist, who is aiming to make a change in the genetics field, a medical field known for its historically racist practices towards Black and Brown bodies. “Genetics has been used to racialize and traumatize generations of communities, consider for example, the creation of the caste system in Latin America or the Eugenics Movement in the United States,” through this understanding, Luís makes an important recognition that today’s medical care is still rooted in such ideologies. Luís hopes his future efforts of bringing culturally relevant practices to the medical field will highlight and combat that racist history in the medical field. Luis notes that unfortunately, “many of today’s doctors have a colonial mindset of how our bodies work, and they don’t realize that not having culturally relevant practices is very harmful.” For Luís Escobar, the 2020 George Floyd uprisings in Minneapolis was what sparked his drive to create change in his community. He witnessed that when communities with shared struggles come together, we can inspire change.

During the 2008 recession, Luís and his family lost their home and were forced to migrate in search of financial stability. Growing up without a sense of community, he began to feel a disconnection to his Latine culture, and it has been until recently in college that he has allowed himself to re-learn his cultural roots. One of Escobar’s proudest achievements has been receiving the Act Six Scholarship. “For a long time, I didn’t see myself pursuing higher education, mostly because I didn’t have teachers that looked like me or that encouraged me to see myself in those spaces,” Luís shares as he reflects on the daily microaggressions he faced in predominantly white spaces. These are the experiences that drive Luís to be a strong advocate for Ethnic Studies, which allows students to have access to culturally sustaining education, while centering those who have been historically harmed in order to engage in healing and resilience. He encourages young people to be outspoken, “I know that it can be terrifying to put yourself out there, especially, in spaces where you've been taught to be silent, but you have to believe and remember that there are people out there backing you up.” 

Luís is a well accomplished scholar who has had to overcome many hurdles to be in a college classroom today. One practice that has uplifted him in his most challenging times has been allowing himself to be present with his emotions and to engage in his healing through visual arts and music. As our communities continue to stand against injustices and violent systems, Luís reminds us that solidarity requires us to offer grace and patience for our loved ones to unlearn such harmful ideologies, while simultaneously providing ourselves permission to create boundaries that will ensure our self-preservation. Luís is a gift to our Latine community and beyond, we are inspired by his continued advocacy for a more just medical field and are excited for his journey of self-discovery and reclaiming of his full self.

Multicultural Life Scholarships and Scholastic Connections

Our program scholarships recognize returning underrepresented undergraduate students in the Day Program. Students who are eligible may receive a $2,500-$5,000 annual, renewable award. The deadline to apply is Sunday, February 5th at 5pm CST.

Women's Foundation of MN Innovator

The Innovators program provides microgrants of $2,500 directly to young women and gender-expansive people (ages 16-24) to fuel their ideas and support their development as leaders with cohort-based learning and individual leadership coaching. The deadline to apply is Monday, January 23rd.

Research Assistant Internship at HACER

HACER offers many internships for students and professionals looking to build their experience and assist with their ongoing projects.

Free Summer Program with SHPEP

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) is a free summer program for students to explore their interests in medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, and more. This progam offers students a chance to develop healthcare skills, plan academic journeys, get clinical exposure, and network. The application deadline is Feb. 5 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

Congressional Internship Program with CHCI

CHCI’s curriculum is centered around a graduate-level non-credit public policy course. Participants connect with Latine leaders, grow their professional network, and engage in civic engagement. The fall of 2023 internship program runs from August 23rd to November 17th, 2023, the deadline to apply is March 1st, 2023.

Volunteer to become an ESL teacher at CLUES

CLUES offers free educational trainings and classes for adults, including English language classes. They are currently seeking volunteers to help our community learn English, the spring term starts on January 17th.

Summer Research with URGO

Get paid $6,000 for 400 hours of research and $3,000 for 200 hours of research plus a generous housing discount for living on campus. You will get the opportunity to work with an Augsburg faculty member to engage in research or a creative activity in any discipline. The deadline is Thursday, February 9th.

2023 Latina Leadership Fellowship

Esperanza United is seeking research and policy leadership fellows. You will receive a stipend of $6,000 with an option to apply for additional funding for fellowship activities. This will take place mid-May to mid Aug and it requires a 20/hr. time commitment, meetings and trainings will take place virtually. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 10th by 5pm EST.

HACER is hiring!

Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment Through Research (HACER) engages in partnerships with community members and advocates to inform policy. They are currently hiring for a 1.) Communications and Outreach Coordinator and 2.)Research and Evaluation Coordinator

CLUES is hiring!

CLUES, a non-profit organization, is currently seeking professionals to lead and support in their youth program, Youth in Action.

Charla en Español: Completar su declaración de impuestos

Este taller virtual tomara lugar el 7 de febrero de 12p.m.-1p.m. Discutirán de lo que necesitan para preparar y presentar su declaración de impuestos, obtener su reembolso y tipos de reembolso a los que puede aplicar. También hablaran de cómo evitar estafas y las fechas de declaración de impuestos en los Estados Unidos.